This invention deals with improving the tools capabilities of robots such as the TALON® used in, e.g., approaching, examining and manipulating IED's (improvised explosive devices) on a battlefield. A MTRS (Man Transportable Robotic Systems) program included fielding of the Mk1 PackBot® and Mk2 TALON® robots for these purposes. These tasks generally required use of multiple tools down range such as a knife, wire tracer, shovel, and a spear, etc. Currently fielded MTRS robotic systems have two main deficiencies that make the use of such tools very difficult. Firstly, the MTRS robotics systems lack the electrical and mechanical interfaces for remote operation of these tools. Secondly, the MTRS robotic systems lack fixtures on which to mount such tools while preserving full usage of the robot's gripper. Because of these deficiencies, if an operator wishes to use the robot to bring multiple tools to an incident site, he must drive the robot back to the truck, grasp the tool he needs with the gripper, and then drive the robot back to the IED site. This procedure dramatically increases the robot operator's time on target, exposing him to enemy fire. Furthermore, all this driving of the robot drains the robot's battery and vastly reduces the robot's operation time.
Three different solutions were previously developed to solve this problem. The first solution was the MTRS Hand Tool Kit, which is an approved accessory for both the Mk1 PackBot and Mk2 TALON robots. The kit consists of a universal interface block to be held in the Mk1 and Mk2 robot grippers. The interface block holds up to three different tools at a time, with tools such as a knife, wire tracer, shovel, or a spear, etc. The MTRS Hand Tool Kit was unsatisfactory because the interface block eliminates gripper function. In order to use tools as well as the gripper, the robot operator must drop the block to make the gripper available to use, and then must remotely pick the block back up later. This adds a significant amount of time and cognitive burden for the operator.
A second solution was the Automatic Robotic Tool Changer for the MTRS Mk1 PackBot by Stratom, Inc. This tool changer is specifically designed only for the Mk1 PackBat, and is not usable with the Mk2 TALON, due to the different nature of these two robot systems. A third solution was the Small Robot Toolkit system by RE2. This toolkit is specifically designed only for the Remotec Inc.'s HD-1 robot system, and is not applicable to either the MTRS Mk1 PackBot or the MTRS Mk2 TALON.
The tool changers designed by Stratom, Inc. and by RE2, Inc. both were considered to have the following drawbacks: First, a rack to hold the tools must be mounted on the back of the robot. The presence of this rack degrades the robot's mobility. It also increases the amount of space required for storage of the platform, and storage space is very limited in military vehicles. Second, these tool changers require the design of semi-autonomous procedures to allow the robot arm to fetch and replace tools from the tool rack. This adds complexity to the robot, and if these procedures malfunction, the tool might be dropped, and the robot arm could be left with no appendage on its end. Third, installation of these systems into the robot requires modification of the robot's gripper-to-arm interface. This modification requires depot level upgrades to the robot's hardware and software. Fourth, because the robot's gripper must be removed in order to install a tool onto the robot's arm, the gripper is unavailable for use when a tool is employed. Fifth, with these systems, the position of the tool is controlled by positioning the robot's arm. The precision of this positioning is limited by how precisely the robot's arm can be controlled.